Pad with speaker retention bracket

Abstract

A vehicle seat is provided with a seat pad formed of a foam material defining a seating surface for supporting an occupant and a rear surface opposite the seating surface. A speaker cavity for receiving a speaker assembly is formed in the pad and extends from the rear surface toward the seating surface. At least one speaker retention bracket is disposed in the speaker cavity. The retention bracket is co-molded with the pad so at least a portion of the retention bracket is encapsulated in foam material to retain the bracket in the cavity, the retention bracket having at least one retention feature extending within the cavity to cooperate with the speaker assembly and retain the speaker assembly in the pad. The speaker retention bracket is configured to mount a speaker assembly within the cavity to allow acoustic radiation to be transmitted through the foam material to a seated occupant.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 one or more speaker retention brackets mounted in a seat foam pad of a seat assembly; and   a speaker assembly retained by each of the one or more speaker retention brackets, wherein each of the one or more speaker retention brackets comprises at least one retention feature configured to cooperate with the speaker assembly and retain the speaker assembly in the seat foam pad, and wherein the speaker assembly is configured to emit vibrations.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the speaker assembly further comprises at least one of a shaker speaker or a tactile transducer. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the speaker assembly is disposed in a lumbar section of the seat foam pad. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more speaker retention brackets are disposed within a left section of a centerline of a seatback and within a right section of a centerline of a seatback. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one of the shaker speaker or the tactile transducer is configured to emit a low frequency output. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more speaker retention brackets are configured to transmit the vibrations in all intended directions of motion from the speaker assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more speaker retention brackets further comprise a flange that is substantially planar and extends to define a periphery of the one or more speaker retention brackets, and wherein at least a portion of the flange is encapsulated in foam material of the seat pad to retain the one or more speaker retention brackets in the seat pad. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein a mounting aperture is defined inside the flange and is sized to receive the speaker assembly within the mounting aperture. 
     
     
         9 . A vehicle seat, comprising:
 a seat pad defining a seating surface for supporting an occupant and a rear surface opposite the seating surface, wherein a speaker cavity for receiving a speaker assembly is formed in the seat pad and extends from the rear surface toward the seating surface; and   at least one speaker retention bracket disposed in the speaker cavity, wherein the speaker retention bracket comprises a flange that extends to define a periphery of the speaker retention bracket, and wherein at least a portion of the flange is encapsulated in the seat pad to retain the speaker retention bracket in the seat pad,   wherein the at least one speaker retention bracket comprises at least one retention feature extending within the speaker cavity to cooperate with the speaker assembly and retain the speaker assembly in the seat pad.   
     
     
         10 . The vehicle seat of  claim 9 , wherein a mounting aperture is defined inside the flange and is sized to receive the speaker assembly within the mounting aperture. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle seat of  claim 9 , wherein the speaker retention bracket further comprises a ridge extending transverse to the flange toward the seating surface of the seat pad, the ridge comprising at least one indent, wherein the retention feature is defined by the indent. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle seat of  claim 9 , wherein the flange of the speaker retention bracket further comprises a guidance feature along the periphery configured to orient the speaker retention bracket into the seat pad. 
     
     
         13 . A method, comprising:
 mounting one or more speaker retention brackets in a seat foam pad of a seat assembly; and   retaining a speaker assembly within each of the one or more speaker retention brackets, wherein the each of the one or more speaker retention brackets comprises at least one retention feature configured to cooperate with the speaker assembly and retain the speaker assembly in the seat foam pad, and wherein the speaker assembly is configured to emit vibrations.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the speaker assembly comprises at least one of a shaker speaker or a tactile transducer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further defining the speaker assembly in a lumbar section of the seat foam pad. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more retention brackets are disposed within a left section of a centerline of a seatback and within a right section of a centerline of a seatback. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one of the shaker speaker or the tactile transducer is configured to emit a low frequency output. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more speaker retention brackets is configured to transmit the vibrations in all intended directions of motion from the speaker assembly. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more speaker retention brackets has a flange that is substantially planar and extends to define a periphery of the one or more speaker retention brackets, and wherein the flange is partially encapsulated in foam material of the seat pad to retain the one or more speaker retention brackets in the seat pad. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein a mounting aperture is defined inside the flange and is sized to receive the speaker assembly within the mounting aperture.